In warehouse and manufacturing environments, the types of equipment which drivers utilize to transport materials from one location to another are called forklifts. The equipment carries pallets, also called skids, which are loaded with objects. The lift truck is made with forks which insert into the pallet rungs. Sometimes, forklifts are also called Lift Trucks, Pallet Trucks, High/Low, Skid Trucks, Stacker-Trucks and Side Loaders.
The first forklifts were marketed during the early part of the 1900s by companies such as Clark and Yale & Towne Manufacturing. Nowadays most supplies are shipped to warehouses and stores on pallets. Forklifts are commonly found in warehouses and manufacturing plants, where they are relied upon to operate the business smoothly.
Among the different kinds of pallets or skid lifts are as follows: Walkie low lift truck - with electrical motor; Rider low lift truck; Hand pallet truck; Telescopic handler; Towing tractor; IC counterbalanced truck; Sideloader; Rider stacker; Slip Sheet machine; Walkie stacker; Electric counterbalanced truck; Walkie Order Picking truck; Reach truck; Rider Order Picking truck - also called "Order Picker"; Articulated Very Narrow Aisle Counterbalanced trucks - also referred to as "Flexi Truck"; Truck Mounted Forklift / Sod Loader; Guided Very Narrow Aisle truck ; 'Man Down' - for narrow aisles; and 'Man Riser' Combination Order Picker/ Stacker truck
The articulated counterbalance truck is a kind of counterbalanced forklift truck that is utilized for specialized applications. This hybrid is suggested for really narrow aisles because it can onload and offload within very tight spaces.
Capable if lifting as high as 12 meters are the Guided Vary Narrow Aisle Trucks. The "non top-tied" kind can lift up to 30 meters high. These types of trucks are available in man down and man-riser models. This machinery must be utilized only on floors that are flat and even.